“Knausgaard set out to alter that distance from reality. He did this by viewing his life in extreme close-up and by treating everything that happens to him or passes through his mind with equal importance. The project might be compared, in painting, to photorealism, with its emphasis on hyper-clarity and detail; or, proceeding in the opposite direction, to Impressionism. In both cases it’s the shift in perception that makes the difference, simple enough in execution but groundbreaking in results.”